By Michael Mayer The untimely death of Alex Chilton at the age of 59 left a big hole in the hearts of rock music fans everywhere – and it left a hole in the SXSW schedule: the final slot on… Continue Reading →

The untimely death of Alex Chilton at the age of 59 left a big hole in the hearts of rock music fans everywhere – and it left a hole in the SXSW schedule: the final slot on the final night, where Chilton and Big Star were to have performed.

In tribute to Chilton, the remaining members of Big Star’s current lineup (Jody Stephens, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow) joined with original member Andy Hummel and a list of other rock luminaries to perform Big Star songs for maybe the final time. Here’s a pictorial look at the evening.

Phil Lesh photo by Jay Blakesberg By Jim Harrington Jay Blakesbergâ€™s enthusiasm for rock â€˜nâ€™ roll is undeniable. That much is clear as the famed Bay Area music photographer recounts a shoot from a few years back with eccentric songsmith… Continue Reading →

That much is clear as the famed Bay Area music photographer recounts a shoot from a few years back with eccentric songsmith Tom Waits. The story was told at lightning-fast speed, lasted some 20 minutes and included humorous anecdotes about riding in the car with Waits (who did woodpecker imitations while driving), jumping barbed-wire fences and chasing the star down a dusty driveway in the middle of nowhere. If Blakesberg took a breath while reliving the moment, it wasnâ€™t apparent.

â€œThatâ€™s a true story,â€ finished Blakesberg, smiling broadly. â€œYouâ€™ve got to wonder if that kind of (expletive) happens to Tom Waits every day.â€

The images of that odyssey, as well as pictures from hundreds of other equally intriguing musical trips, can be found in the photographerâ€™s new career retrospective, â€œTraveling on a High Frequency: Jay Blakesberg Photographs 1978-2008.â€ Blakesberg will celebrate the release of this hard cover coffee table book with a signing/party on Tuesday (Nov. 11) at the Independent in San Francisco. The public is invited to attend and admission is free.

The book, which retails for $40, is vastly impressive, numbering 304 pages and containing exquisite images of such rock â€˜nâ€™ rollers as Phish, Bjork, R.E.M., Nirvana, U2, Radiohead, Dave Matthews and Carlos Santana. Its most immediately arresting characteristic is the sheer magnitude of pics displayed â€“ some shown full page, others in multi-image collages.
Blakesberg says that there are more than 1,200 photos in â€œTraveling on a High Frequency.â€ Though, at least at the time of this interview, he had yet to take a final tally.

â€œIâ€™m going to count them tonight,â€ promised the 47-year-old San Francisco resident, who is known for his work in Rolling Stone, Esquire and other national magazines. â€œIâ€™ll have my kids do it â€“ pay them to do it.â€

Heâ€™ll probably have to pay his kids â€“ Sam, 15, and Ricki, 13 â€“ more than he earned for his first professional gig. He made the transition from amateur shutterbug to pro in 1979, not long after graduating from high school in New Jersey, when he sold two shot taken at a Grateful Dead concert to a small, regional music magazine. The paycheck for that freelance assignment, Blakesberg recalled, totaled $15.

Evidently, it was enough. Blakesberg decided to pursue his dream of becoming a professional rock photographer. In 1985, he moved to the Bay Area, the home of his beloved Dead. He would continue to chronicle Jerry Garcia and crew, as well as later-day Dead off-shoots, for many local publications and national magazines. The photographerâ€™s relationship with the band would eventually result in 2002â€™s widely acclaimed book â€œBetween the Dark and Light: The Grateful Dead, Photography of Jay Blakesberg.â€

â€œTaking a good rock â€˜nâ€™ roll picture is hard,â€ comments Dennis McNally, the Grateful Deadâ€™s longtime publicist and historian. â€œAs any photographer will tell you, the lighting isnâ€™t really designed for photography, just for starters, and rarely do you find a really gorgeous rock star.

â€œSomehow, those things havenâ€™t seemed to bother Jay Blakesberg. For 20 years and more in the Bay Area, heâ€™s been getting the good shots â€“ and itâ€™s an impressive resume.â€

His history with the Dead helped open up doors with such modern day jam bands as Widespread Panic and Phish. Blakesberg now gets the kind of access that most other photographers can only dream about. The industry standard is that camera men are allowed to shoot, at most, the first three songs of a concert. Yet, Blakesberg can be seen snapping away well past that imposed limit â€“ sometimes for the entire concert â€“ as well as often hanging out backstage and elsewhere with artists.

â€œI like how Jay seems like one of the guys – someone on the scene,â€ Phish bassist Mike Gordon said via email. â€œCombine this friendliness with a world-class photographic eye and it’s astounding how many artists and great moments are captured, as evidenced in the new Blakesberg book.â€

Although best known for his work with jam bands like Phish and the Grateful Dead, as well as local acts such as Primus (which is well documented in the photographerâ€™s book â€œTo Defy The Laws of Traditionâ€”A Photographic Archive of Primus and Les Claypoolâ€), Blakesberg has shot all kinds of different musicians through the years.

For example, on one single page of â€œTraveling on a High Frequencyâ€ â€“ page 22 â€“ there are portraits of the Meat Puppetsâ€™ Curt Kirkwood, the Sex Pistolsâ€™ Johnny Rotten, Jackson Browne, Joe Henry, the Talking Headsâ€™ David Byrne and the Lemonheadsâ€™ Evan Dando.

With every picture comes a story. As Blakesberg flips through the pages of his new book, many of these tales come forth, as does his gratitude to all of these artists for allowing him to be part of the show. The very title of â€œTraveling on a High Frequency,â€ Blakesberg explains, is a nod of thanks to these musicians.

â€œThey are the ones traveling on a high frequency,â€ he says. â€œSo, when I get to work with someone like Tom Waits, I get to travel on that same frequency with them, for that minute, for that moment.â€

â€œTraveling on a High Frequency: Jay Blakesberg Photographs 1978-2008â€ book release party and signing
When: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11
Where: The Independent, 628 Divisadero St., San Francisco
Tickets: Admission is free
Information: 415-771-1421, www.apeconcerts.com
Also: To order â€œTraveling on a High Frequency,â€ visit www.blakesberg.com or www.rockoutbooks.com.